IND vs SL 3rd ODI Match Prediction

IND vs SL Team Previews

India

India was excellent with the ball once more in the second ODI and even though it suffered a few lapses with the bat, it had more than enough in the tank to come out the winner. We expect a couple of changes for the third ODI as India builds toward the World Cup. 

Washington Sundar could play in place of Axar Patel, SKY and Ishan Kishan could replace two of the batters, and Arshdeep Singh could play in place of Mohammad Shami. There is so much cricket to be played that there is absolutely no reason not to rotate the players and manage their workloads. 

Will some or all of these changes weaken India as a team? We don't think so. Ishan Kishan scored a double century in the previous match he played and SKY is just too good to not score runs in ODI cricket very quickly. India's batting is going to tower over Sri Lanka no matter which six batters they end up picking. 

The bowling got a real boost from having Kuldeep Yadav in the lineup. He can be a bit expensive on occasion but he almost always picks up wickets. He is in great rhythm and we think he adds another excellent attacking option in the middle alongside the rapid Umran Malik. 

Mohammad Siraj is also in terrific form and continues to cement his place in the ODI team as a first-choice pacer. 

All the ingredients are present for India to continue its winning run even if it does make a few changes to its playing eleven. 

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's batting promised much but regular wickets in the middle overs prevented the team from reaching any significant total. Nuwanidu Fernando made his debut since Pathum Nissanks was injured and looked very assured at the crease. He is someone to watch out for in the future. 

Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendia also got starts before getting out against the run of play. That has been the story of the series for Sri Lanka. It is not as if they do not have batting talent in their lineup but so far, we have not seen their top order carry on and convert their starts into big scores. 

Dasun Shanaka suffered a rare failure against India and even though the lower order put up a fight, Sri Lanka's batting looked a step below what is needed to compete against India on a consistent basis. 

Sri Lanka's bowling effort was better. Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara picked up a few early wickets. Chamika Karunaratne was also competitive but they did not have the total to ramp up the pressure. If India would have been chasing 50 extra runs, the result could have been different because the spinners would have had to be attacked. 

Sri Lanka is a team that is developing and it has the pieces to build something special. For the time being, it seems as if Sri Lanka is just a little bit lacking in all disciplines to get the better of India.